Comments by "COL BEAUSABRE" (@colbeausabre8842) on "KB Dubrovnik - Guide 274" video.

  1.  @matthewrobinson4323  In 76 my infantry battalion from Ft Lewis WA was deployed to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado for ALFAT (Army Landing Force Amphibious Training). Right down the way was the famous Hotel Coronado - supposedly the inspiration for the Eagles "Hotel California". Spent some fun evenings in the bar, picking up girls. We than moved up the coast to Camp Pendleton and worked with the Gyrenes, before we sailed back up to Puget Sound and assaulted North Fort. Good training - nice to go someplace different and do something different.
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  2. dw. The most famous vessel was original one, the steam sloop that won the battle against the Confederate raider, Alabama, off Cherbourg. She lasted until the early 1890's when she struck a reef off Central America. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kearsarge_(1861) http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/86/86176.htm Her loss caused much grief in the USN who viewed her as a sort of mascot. So, the Secretary of the Navy requested Congress to allow him to deviate from the law that stated all first class warships should be named for states and name a new battlewagon in her honor. This was approved - making her the only US battleship not named after a state - and the resulting pre-dreadnought served until about 1920. Instead of being scrapped like her contemporaries. her superstructure was razed and a 250 ton capacity crane mounted amidships. She was re-rated as AB-1 and later renamed "Crane Ship Number One" after the passage of the "Two Ocean Navy" act prior to World War Twice to free her name for an aircraft carrier. She proved a very useful auxiliary for installing armor, turrets and guns on battleships and cruisers and repairing battle damage. From DANFS "In place of military trappings, Kearsarge received an immense revolving crane with a rated lifting capacity of 250 tons, as well as hull "blisters," which gave her more stability. The 10,000-ton craneship rendered invaluable service for the next 20 years. One of many accomplishments was the raising of sunken submarine SQUALUS off the New Hampshire coast. On 6 November 1941 she designated Crane Ship No. 1, giving up her illustrious name which was assigned to a mighty aircraft carrier. But she continued her yeoman service and made many contributions to the American victories of World War II. She handled guns, turrets, armor and other heavy lifts for new battleships such as Indiana and Alabama; cruisers Savannah and Chicago; and guns on the veteran battleship Pennsylvania. In 1945 the crane ship was towed to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard where she assisted in the construction of carriers Hornet, Boxer, and Saratoga. She departed the west Coast in 1948 to finish her career in the Boston Naval Shipyard. Joe McDonald, master rigger, described her as "a big gray hulk of a thing" which was "pulled around by two or three tugs" on the job; "But the old girl has brought millions of dollars worth of business to Boston. Without her we would never have been able to do many of the big jobs, that cost billions of dollars."" She was stricken in 1955 after being condemned by the Board of Inspection and Survey as being uneconomical to refit for further service. After almost 60 years of service, she didn't owe the US taxpayers a penny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kearsarge_(BB-5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kearsarge_(BB-5)#/media/File:USS_Kearsarge_as_crane_ship_AB-1.jpg http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/05a.htm The aircraft carrier was a member of the Essex class. missed WW2, but fought in Korea and Vietnam and lasted until 1974. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kearsarge_(CV-33) https://www.navsource.org/archives/02/33.htm
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  3.  @CH3TN1K313  British ship. Standard field gun of the Empire in the Great War was the 18 pounder, sone of which were emplaced around London to battle the Zeppelins and Gothas. The 18 pounder's caliber was 3.2 inches or 84 mm. QED
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